Are Mac's worth the price premium?

[TheBiles]

Macs are more expensive? I wouldn't know since I didnt consider buying anything else but I didn't need the latest or fastest computer. MY MBP seems to do everything I want it to fast enough (like processing large batches of photos). It was an easy decision after using the the wife's Dell laptop a few times. The filing/folder system on the Mac is superior for my needs and I seem to have found software for everything I want it do. The screen is wonderful and it hooked into my home network flawlessly ( about 2 minutes to get get everything connected).

The speed/power issue reminds me of when I went to purchase a new Dodge Ram truck a few years ago (still have it). The salesmen insisted that I needed the V10 model because it was faster and more powerful but I resisted and got the 5.9 V8 model instead. We all know what happened to gas prices and I still have plenty of power.

Macs are on the order of twice as expensive as a comparable Windows laptop. Good job being an informed consumer.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[usayit]

I don't know... if it works for digital flower and he/she is completely happy I can't see that being "misinformed". There's no reason to force oneself to use what is perceive as an inferior "filing/folder" system just because someone call "TheBiles" says so much less because there are cheaper alternatives.


Many Linux guys say similar things... Why the hell pay for a POS Windows O/S?

Maybe they know something you don't?



Off topic... for those familiar with windows administration. I've been trying to figure this out on one of our windows file servers that contain a mix of files. What's the equivalent of this?

find . -name "*.jar" | xargs -I{} mv {} {}.old

Its not one of my development machines so loading cygwin (or similar) is not an option.

 

[cgipson1]

Currently my software is well...borrowed...but with the student discounts I am tempted in having my own copy. y

Is "Borrowed software" a euphemism for "Stolen Software"?

 

[mjhoward]

For me they are, or at least the Macbook is. I am a heavy notebook user, literally everyday for many hours a day. Prior to getting mine, I had two other platic windows laptops. After 18 months, each were worn, cracked, broken, battery underperforming, etc... After having owned my aluminum Macbook for over 30 months now, I can honestly say that I would pay the extra $400 premium over my previous windows laptop JUST for the aluminum chassis with glass touchpad. The entire notebook still looks and performs like new. I also still get 6+ hours on battery which is much more than the 2.5hrs I ever got on a windows laptop.

 

[CCericola]

• Are Mac's worth the price premium?

No.

Yes, and when you purchase your mac you get a "My farts don't stink" membership pin.

<---Is a Mac user)

 

[usayit]

All Mac users must own a black mock turtleneck..... its a rule. lol

 

[molested_cow]

The only think I'd take Mac over "the rest" is its display. Macs tend to have excellent but expensive monitors.

Other than that, it's the matter of preference and convenience.

PCs are cheaper for reasons that make Macs more expensive. You mentioned about the huge PC laptop chargers. I agree! This is because PC companies want to cut cost, so they source ready made parts off OEM suppliers, which means the same parts probably are made for many many different models. The volume cuts down its cost, but since it is not designed specifically for that one particular laptop, its design is not in the most efficient manner.

So it comes down to whether you can deal with these "sacrifices". Size, weight, material, aesthetics etc. Can you live with these "deficiencies"? Is the price difference justifiable?

If you do get a PC laptop, I'd urge you to make sure you are picking the one with a good display. See it in person. Take your ipad along to compare with it. I kinda regretted getting mine online because I didn't have the chance to see it in person.

 

[Derrel]

Yes, Macs are worth the premium over Windows machines. Just as Coca~Cola is worth the price premium over Shasta cola. The same way a Mercedes is worth the price premium over a Kia. The same way wild, troll-caught Pacific salmon from Oregon or Washington or California is worth the price premium over pond-reared, Mexican tilapia. The same way gourmet coffee beans are worth the price premium over Folger's crystals. Macs last a long time, and work reliably without much effort. Macintosh hardware and the software is made by the same company, so it actually works. Hey, if you drive a Kia....fine. If you want to eat tilapia, fine. If you like Folger's crystal's instant coffee, well, God will take pity on you some day.

For photography work, the Mac's system of allowing the user to color-code files and folders is a Godsend. That makes it possible to search for files based not on name or date but on "qualities or characteristics" the files or folders or discs possess. Would you like to find folders that have already been backed up and moved to another hard drive? If you have color-coded them on your Mac, you can find those folders in seconds. Want to find ALL OF YOUR BEST IMAGES, across a terrabyte of storage, no matter where they are? ON your Mac, if you have labeled the best photos, you can do a search based on the color code, and find those files, and have them displayed in a finder window in a very short time-without the need to know the names or locations of any of the images.

 

[Canuk]

I have owned several "Top End" windows based gaming laptops. There isn't a Mac laptop build that can compare spec wise.....

That being said every one of the Windows machines, had issues. Often requiring service calls and outright replacements of the machines (I'm talking about custom ordered $4000+ machines)

I recently bought my first Macbook Pro. It runs faster and way cooler than any PC that I have owned without any of the problems of the Windows OS. The thing that most people fail to recognise is that the Mac OS system has a much smaller draw on the computer and requires much less hardware to do the same job.

 

[RedLeg]

I got an iMac last year after my dell kept having software problems. I had to bring the thing to get fixed twice within 6 months. it was wicked slow, it would take 10 minutes for the thing to power on, the fan would come on like a frieght train when nobody was even when nobody was using the thing. I tried cleaning the case out and making sure there was good ventalation. I made sure i didnt have programs running in the background that werent needed and the thing still ran like a pig.
i bought a $1300 iMac and couldnt be happier. when i power it on its ready to use in 20 seconds, there is no noise from the fan, no error messages....the machine just works and i have no problem paying a little extra for a machine that works so well.

 

[usayit]

I have owned several "Top End" windows based gaming laptops. There isn't a Mac laptop build that can compare spec wise.....

That being said every one of the Windows machines, had issues. Often requiring service calls and outright replacements of the machines (I'm talking about custom ordered $4000+ machines)

I recently bought my first Macbook Pro. It runs faster and way cooler than any PC that I have owned without any of the problems of the Windows OS. The thing that most people fail to recognise is that the Mac OS system has a much smaller draw on the computer and requires much less hardware to do the same job.

I think this is the key here.... Most compare Mac versus X through paper specs alone. Among that group, there are Windows users who have never given Mac OS X a good try. Among Mac OS X users, the number of them with a significant experience with Windows (OS and hardware) is pretty darn close to 100%.

 

[chuasam]

Is it worth it? Hell Yes. I like being able to buy a machine, a beautiful one at that...and just use it. It's only money but the joy of using a Mac far outweighs a paltry premium. Think of the Mac as a luxury product that it is. The premium is merely the entry fee for this club.

Americans have the idiotic idea of buying the cheapest possible thing regardless of the costs. This has given to the rise of questionable farming practices and junk food. It's always about buying more rather than buying better.

 

[DScience]

Yes, very much worth the price.

 

[Ysarex]

 

[Gromit801]

Wow, a lot of MS Koolaid drinkers in here.

I work as a graphic artist. Our shop went 100% Mac platform (for everything) because of the horrendous downtime created by Windows and crappy PCs.

Is a Mac worth the extra price? Is a BMW worth more than a Yugo? Computers are more than just the sum of their parts. OSX is far superior to any version of Windows. It just works better, and lasts longer. My first computer was a 1987 Mac Plus. It still works. My faithful 2005 Mac G5 was on the repair shop last year because the power supply went out after six years of nearly non-stop running. Most PC users I know have gone through a few machines in that amount of time. Never had a virus, and don't have to run a virus app in the background slowing things down. OSX Base is Unix, which is an inherently tougher nut to hack than that swiss cheese called windows. You can run four different OS on a modern Mac: OSX, UNIX, LINUX, and Windows. Über flex there.